Paleolithic And Neolithic Similarities

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The Neolithic and Paleolithic Eras’ had more differences then similarities due to them transitioning from one type of way of living to another. The prefix “Neo” means new and the prefix “Paleo” means old, while the “Lithic” stands for stone. The Paleolithic Era, or the Old Stone Age, lasted from 250,000 to 10,000 BCE. The Neolithic Era, or the New Stone Age, lasted from 10,000 to 3500 BCE. Paleolithic people traveled in small groups of about 30 to 50 people, and survived as hunters and gatherers. They hunted animals like bison, mammoths, bears, and deer. Spears were also invented in the Old Stone Age; the spears were used for them to hunt for fish. They also came up with the bow and arrow to hunt towards the end of this era. They used the …show more content…

“There were several Homo species related to modern humans (including Neanderthals) during the Paleolithic Era but only one - Homo sapiens - survived until the Neolithic age.” (Diffen) Paleolithic males lived to be about 35.4 and females lived to be about 30. Neolithic males lived to be about 33.6 and females lived to be about 29.8. These estimates come from the field of “paleopathology”, which is the investigation of health, disease, and death from archaeological study of skeletons. (Nicholson) “Paleolithic females died younger than males due to the stresses of pregnancy and child birth while still carrying the burdens of food collecting and moving camp.” (Nicholson) Paleolithic people consumed more meat, which is the main factor of them being healthier than Neolithic people. “The best explanation for relatively short Paleolithic life span is the combination of stresses of nomadism, climate and warfare.” (Nicholson) Neolithic people lived mostly as vegetarians, which decreases the amount of protein they took in. “During the Neolithic, population density increased from 10 to 50-fold over the Paleolithic, supported by the spread of grain-farming.” (Nicholson) Neolithic people also lived hard work lives due to farming, the amount of food and heavy effort needed did not balance each other out. These factors lead to a low general health, and …show more content…

There was no concept of property owner ship in the Old Stone Age, due to them never settling down and living nomadic lives. Also due to them living nomadic lives and living as hunters and gatherers, the never had a sense of religion. “Paleolithic people believed in animism or spirits that controlled their environment and animals around them.” (Diffen) They decorated walls of their caves with paintings of animals, like deer, bison, and mammoths. They also made sculptures, to represent things like women fertility. Women mattered in the Paleolithic Era due to fertility and they were the gatherers, while the men hunted. (Diffen) Neolithic people were controlled my military and religious leaders. (Diffen) As the Paleolithic people had no concept of land ownership, the Neolithic people however did. Due to the Neolithic people starting to settle down, and stop living nomadic lives they were able to own land. The only down fall about this was they usually settled around the river valleys that could sometime cause severe flooding. The flooding was good to keep the crops from being dry, but it also could wipe out their homes and all of their food. Once, the food and homes were wiped out people could try and take over their

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